Beit T’Shuvah, which translates to House of Return, is a drug and alcohol rehab facility in West LA. Though Jewish, it welcomes people of all faiths — and no faith. Its Baked T’Shuvah program teaches residents to bake the traditional Jewish bread called challah.
Baked T’Shuvah participants are extra busy right now because of the Jewish High Holy days, which end on September 25 with Yom Kippur.
This Wednesday alone, they baked 200 challahs, whereas it’s usually 50 per week (for the Jewish Sabbath on Friday evening).
People who donate at least $15 to the rehab facility receive a loaf of challah as a thank-you. They can choose a flavor: traditional, apple cinnamon, or chocolate chip.
Jackie Elkins, the founder of Baked T’Shuvah, shares that the community has loved the bread: “We found when we started developing this recipe … people were just blown away with the butter. The butter is more like brioche-style bread. And everything's better with butter.”
“Being able to create something every week that then we give to other people is a little piece of redemption for,” says Mel K., a resident and baker. She’s using her first name and last initial to protect her privacy.
Another baker in the kitchen is Sarah B., who’s also using her first name and last initial to protect her privacy. She says the program helps her develop accountability. “I was incarcerated for a couple years, and I got clean. And I've been living a certain way for a really long time. Even though it's baking bread, it's such a profound experience for me because it's giving me responsibility. It's giving me something to show up for.”
For Mel and Sarah, it took two to three months — and lots of mistakes — to nail down the baking process.
“We're working with yeast. It's not like baking cookies. It depends on the humidity. It depends on the temperature in the room. It depends on all sorts of things to get it right,” Elkins explains.
They spent Wednesday preparing the dough. This Thursday, they’re shaping and baking the loves. The challahs will be ready for delivery — across LA and the San Fernando Valley — on Friday. It’s all in time for the Sabbath and Yom Kippur, which ends on Monday.